We study how fractures get fixed.
And how patients recover.
Arrowhead is the trauma center for San Bernardino County. We work on questions that come up treating fractures — imaging, clinical outcomes, surgical technique, and population health.
Arrowhead is the safety-net trauma center for a county of two million.
What we work on
Five areas: imaging, outcomes, surgical technique, clinical AI, and population health.
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Machine learning in imaging
We test machine-learning models on plain films and CT to see how well they find fractures, classify the pattern, and estimate healing, and where a radiologist or surgeon still has to correct them.
- Fracture detection on plain filmAutomated screening + classification
- CT-based outcome predictionModeling union and complications
- Imaging biomarkersQuantitative features that predict healing
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Trauma outcomes
We look at how things like substance use and housing relate to whether a fracture heals, gets infected, or needs another operation, using our own trauma patients.
- Methamphetamine & complicationsSubstance use in orthopaedic trauma
- Social determinants of healingSDOH and recovery trajectories
- Weight-bearing & unionProtocols that change outcomes
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Surgical technique
We use the cadaver lab to answer operative questions — how much a given approach exposes and which fixation holds in poor-quality bone — and record techniques carefully enough that someone else can follow them.
- Geriatric acetabulum (cadaver)Exposure & fixation biomechanics
- Modified Stoppa approachQuantifying bony pelvic exposure
- Operative media libraryStep-by-step technique capture
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AI in clinical decisions
We test generative AI on real fracture-care tasks — decision support, patient education, resident teaching — to see where it holds up and where it gets things wrong.
- Generative AI in fracture careDecision support, validated
- Patient survey on AI useWhat patients actually want
- Resident training toolsAI as a teaching aid
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Population health
As the county's trauma center we see most of its fractures, which lets us look at who gets injured, who reaches care, and how injury relates to age, poverty, and homelessness in San Bernardino County.
- Fracture epidemiologyPatterns across the county
- Disparities in trauma careWho gets care, and when
- Homelessness & orthopaedic traumaInjury and access among unhoused patients
Papers and active studies
Manuscripts in preparation, under review, and published, plus the studies still enrolling.
All publications →| Year | Title | Program | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Quantification of bony pelvic exposure through the modified Stoppa approachDonaldson J, et al. | Surgical technique | In preparation |
| 2026 | Methamphetamine use and complications in orthopaedic traumaGrames C, et al. | Trauma outcomes | Under review |
| 2026 | Generative AI for Achilles tendon injury assessmentElsissy H, et al. | AI in clinical decisions | Submitted |
| 2025 | Social determinants of healing in lower-extremity fractureAnton J, et al. | Trauma outcomes | In preparation |
In the pipeline 5 active
- active Methamphetamine & Complications in Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes · retrospective
- pending Geriatric Acetabulum — Cadaveric Study Technique · biomechanics
- active OTA Acetabulum Survey Technique · survey
- active Pelvic Ring Fracture Protocol Outcomes · protocol
- active Patient Survey on AI Use AI · survey
- active Homelessness & Orthopaedic Trauma Population · disparities
- pending Weight-Bearing After Pelvic Fracture Outcomes · prospective
We work at a county hospital, so we mostly study the patients other registries tend to miss.
ARMC Orthopaedic Trauma Research Group · Colton, CaliforniaThe team
Faculty, residents, and medical students in the group.
Propose a project, or join one
We take proposals from residents, students, and outside collaborators on a rolling basis. Many of our projects are proposed and developed by students.
- 1Bring the question
A clinical observation, a registry signal, or a technique you want measured.
- 2We scope it together
Design, data source, IRB pathway, and who’s on it — in one short conversation.
- 3You get a workspace
A shared space with the team, the documents, and live status — by invitation.